Packaging 'ODD' Business
by F o N t E. AQUA
Summary: All oddity is packed into a small package everyone keeps. Open it will all spell dirty business. Helljumpers ain't getting enough of it, only Spartans do.  *IN THE EVENTS OF SOME OF THE LEVELS IN HALO 3: ODST. T FOR SWEARING.*
1. Sleep Tight, Tinkerbell

**DISCLAIMER: THE CHARACTERS DO NOT BELONG TO ME. ENOUGH SAID.**

**Yes, my first prologue thingy. Yeah, it's a random drabble I came up with. The real dig's coming in the oncoming chapters so be sure to have a lookout! Anyway, the chapters are going to be set in the campaign of Halo 3 ODST and I will try to make some chapters from my own ideas, probably in the last few episodes.**

**Enjoy!**

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**Sleep Tight, Tinkerbell**

**? Hours Before Drop. 3:00 am**

Sometimes nights could be complicated. On every night you'll have insomnia, keeping your eyes bloodshot as you craved for a good rest. You deserve a break once in a while but not in war. Wars were always calling out at you in the middle of the night; even in the dark canvas of space would imaginary winds howl at you as you desperately tried to let your mind sleep. Seems crazy, but almost every soldier had it.

Such as this man who laid on his bed which was made of a simple mattress and a small pillow. Sheets of cloth were used as blankets and he raised them up to his chin. This man was known to be Dutch and he was one of those victims who couldn't get some sleep. His face was weary and dark circles formed below his eyes. All he saw was darkness, and the clock ticking three in the morning. It was only an hour before his regular routine and he had think of a way to spend the time he was given in this dreadful night. That day, he was going to that Cruiser left untouched in Mombasa City with the rest of the squad but now was different: he HAD to get some sleep. Snores could be heard above which made him envious. So his buddy was lucky to drift into his wonderland and no luck for Dutch whatsoever.

Dutch rubbed his sore eyes with a hand, his brain mentally telling him to knock himself out. However, he wasn't able to do so that night. There was that picture out the window of a glassed Earth and other different fleets. Most of them are at peace...for now. When the war began, everything still seemed to be ordinary but as time flew, unexpected things just flew into action like huge chunks of space debris. Colliding with one another, the irony continued.

For some reason he grew tired of the darkness, thinking Buck would barge into his room again with yet another order. No, it wasn't that he hated assignments but he just wanted a few minutes to get used to the light pouring into his eyes whenever his comrades flew into the room like drones. Dutch groaned. His mind was already fueled up for battle and perhaps _too_ much. He shut his eyes, trying to think good thoughts to calm himself down. That's right, good thoughts about this damn war. Thinking about a random grunt running frantically in panic while holding a plasma grenade in each hand that were about to explode.

Heh, that was funny. He could imagine a brute dying in the explosion with the small monster. Explosions were fun and he WAS a heavy weapons specialist. As it was safe to dream more about his enemies' careless deaths, he did exactly that. Murdering the nonexistent bastards in his dream was entertaining. It was the answer to his insomnia dilemma, his hell. He was almost reaching the climatic part of his imagination until-

"Tinkerbell!"

Wait. What? Dutch blinked his eyes open, and as he looked up to find the source of whoever said that, he saw a dark man's face hanging from the bunk above. A familiar smug look was written on the man's face as though he wasn't surprised to see another head coming out from Dutch's neck. Dutch's mouth dropped open a fraction of an inch and small incomprehensible stutters left his lips. Realization had hit.

_"What the hell, Romeo?"_

"You were talking in your sleep."

"Go to hell!"


	2. Invitations Aren't Always Clear

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS. THEY BELONG TO THEIR OWNERS, BUNGIE.**

**Yes! My first Halo SECOND chapter! I played Halo ever since I was six (that was 2005), and I've grown quite addicted to the amazing plot. I don't see much of the ODST stories so I decided to make them. May be AU, so beware :) Most of it are in base (or something) and I'll think about the settings. Right now I will just think about the characters and try to keep them in character. I did mention about the Buck x Dare thingies so yeah, I'm including them. Four of my friends practically forced me to. (Four of you who are reading this, you know where you stand)  
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**If you have any ideas for any settings, please tell me in a review! Like it? Don't like it? Just don't flame about it, and I'll be just fine. (Note that I'm sensitive.) Anyway, plea****se R&R!**

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**Invitations Aren't Always Clear  
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**NMPD Headquarters, 3 Hours After Drop. 19:15  
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"It is official, it's official: we're screwed."

"All you think about is screwed, huh? Wait till I screw your sorry ass," Buck smiled bitterly, still ahead of Romeo as he locked his MA5C in his sweaty hands. The dark-skinned man in armor followed behind his comrade up the steps back into the entrance of the rooftop where they once exited. Romeo kept a firm grip on the carry handle of the sniper rifle and examined his clip, ensuring the magazine was full. The SRS99D was slightly damaged; however, it was still in good use. As Buck stepped into the indoors of the building, he just said, "Let's just find that damn pelican, alright?"

The other ODST soon asked, "What about all that Covenant we side-stepped on the way up?" Very true, because they did sneaked pass multiple alien squads and teams while they were heading to the rooftop to be picked up by Mickey and Dutch. But now that the pelican already crashed, the Covenant should consider about strengthening their guard in case any ambush was issued. There was no way both Romeo and Buck could escape without being noticed.

Buck turned around with a slightly amused look, "Oh that? Well, now we get to kill them."

Romeo fell silent for a while, but he followed Buck with a puzzled look. The two ODSTs ran up the escalator when they were in the structure, supposedly finding a way to get to the crash landing site which Dutch and Mickey happened to 'fall' in. He then thanked him, "Thanks for picking such a tall building like this. I'm really digging the stairs."

"Have you ever gotten tired of bitching, Romeo?" Buck asked, as he scanned the upper level for an exit.

"Have you ever got tired of busting my balls?" Romeo shot back. Buck was the next to be silenced. He finally said, "Point taken."

After a few moments, Romeo asked, "You think they're alright?"

"Heck if I know. They _should _be in one piece," Buck looked around and instinctively rushed to a door where it opened automatically, light finally pouring into the dark space and allowing him to get a good view of the area. He motioned for Romeo who walked briskly over to check if the coast was clear. He bent down on the ground and turned on his scope to find brutes, grunts and jackals huddling all over the place. Perfect, just what he needed. "Looks like we got an invitation to a party, Gunny," he remarked.

The Gunnery Sergeant raced out and hid behind a pillar under a shelter where the Covenant didn't occupy yet. He leaned to his side to capture an overall glimpse of his foes: jackals patrolling the corners, brutes guarding the area and grunts sleeping on whatever object they laid their eyes on. Surely it was easy enough to take them out. Romeo heard Buck say, "Want champagne?"

"It's your call, Gunny. You're the host after all," Romeo threw Buck his M6C and exchanged it for the assault rifle which triggered a stunned and annoyed look from Buck. He cringed in disgust but brandished out his other pistol, thus dual wielding two M6Cs. He hesitated then and flew from his hiding spot and pointed the twin guns at a few jackals.

It was a split second before a jackal noticed the marine and Buck pulled the trigger.

There was a loud bang and suddenly the jackal which was standing upright was now on the floor, its head bleeding profusely until the alien died. The others were alerted and the grunts woke up in a daze and frantic panic. It took a while before the brutes could calm them down and Buck pulled another trigger.

The two bullets flew in the air, piercing through a brute chieftain's breastplate and earning a painful whine from the monster. It didn't stop the brute except for a half of a clip from a MA5C wasted on the head. The brute fell, signaling the start of the grunts' hysteria, causing them to run in fearful panic.

"They got leader! Run!-Aagh!" Romeo opened fire on a small grunt which instantly met its death, ran out of the shelter and down the stairs to face more covenant obstacles on his track. Buck jumped over the rail to the lower platforms and swung a plasma grenade at a party of confused grunts. When he landed he killed more jackals with a burst of bullets, taking five down with a full clip. Ammunition was used up but it was worth the kill. As for Romeo, he didn't delay to shoot more at the grunts as it was easy to take them out, that is, until a Phantom came into view.

Buck was the first to spot the flying vehicle and barged his way through grunts - knocking them out - to a shade turret. The operator, a grunt, was lying motionless on the floor which gave him a chance to use the mechanism. Buck hopped onto the seat, and rubbed his hands against each other to get rid of the blood and sweat that clung onto his skin. He locked his fingers around the wheel and steered it so that it could face the Phantom. He aimed at the plasma cannons attached to the metal material and opened up his fire.

The high-powered bolts of plasma hit one of the plasma cannons, one after another until all three were destroyed. Buck also used his remaining time to take out reinforcements who came down the gravity lift and some coming out of the door which was located beside the ASG.

When the area was clear, Buck dropped off from the ASG and met up with Romeo at the door. It opened, and a dead brute was present on the floor. Beside it were two plasma rifles of the crimson color, supposedly the brutes' true color. Buck exchanged his pistols for the rifles. He made a subtle hand signal for them to move out and the exit doors opened as soon as the ODSTs were ready.

Buck told his friend, "Just take a deep breath and run."

"Sure, running sounds real easy," Romeo agreed, who couldn't wait to get out of this smoky room.

The smell of rotting brute and grunt corpses were too overpowering even with his helmet on. It just didn't smell right at all. The doors automatically opened up and regular jackals and grunts were the first enemies Romeo took note of when he saw them. He threw a frag grenade at the aliens, resulting in an explosion as bodies flew out of their places.

Both Romeo and Buck raced out and ascended up the steps, taking out manually-setup plasma turrets and other brutes which were present in the scene. Romeo used his SRS99D to kill off the brutes each with a headshot and keeping the grunts and jackals down so that Buck would have the chance to fire in their skulls.

As they ascended on more steps, more jackals with carbines were in sight. Here, only a few brutes were alive and Buck made the priority to kill the brutes first. He shot a cluster of plasma bolts at a brute, one after another - dodging their attempts to shove him away - and finally finishing them off with a plasma grenade or two.

Buck allowed his plasma rifles to recharge after defeating the brutes. However, there was no guarantee he saw the last of them.

As for Romeo, he was occupied with more brutes. He ran backwards while firing at a large brute so that its pace and shields would slacken and hurriedly melee it with the assault rifle, killing the brute. He did the same for another, but the last one was unaffected. Instead, the brute's mind had already gone berserk before Romeo could even finish it off with the last of his clip. This bastard refused to meet its makers.

He had to reload it but with the killing machine keeping him busy, there was no time for him to change his clip. Romeo shouted, "Err, Buck! A little help here! Buck!"

"On it!" Buck responded after silencing a handful of jackals, and sprinted to Romeo's position. The situation was hot but he was able to put some strength to run the brute into the wall, completely knocking it out. He then aimed a pistol at its head and fired, giving the brute a peaceful rest. He shot a look at Romeo who just shrugged his shoulders. The blame was pushed to the brute, as usual. Buck smacked in a new clip in his pistol, "Let's get going. I believe the party isn't over yet. And why won't you use your grenades for once?"

The other ODST didn't answer; it answered his question. Buck headed for a door he found and said, "C'mon. Stop your stalling. Dutch and Mickey should be nearby."

"Hope so," Romeo muttered softly, and allowed Buck to lead the way. Unlike the other room, this had more corpses including NMPD officers. The KIA group had bodies all scattered, with ammunition left behind. Buck helped himself and said to Romeo who just stood there watching him collect his share of ammo, "They don't need these anymore. Go help yourself."

Romeo picked up all the clips his MA5C could manage and reloaded the weapon to insert a fresh batch of bullets. He only found two clips of SRS99D ammo but he didn't hesitate to fill them in too. There was no frag grenades left for him to take since Buck stole them away. Nevertheless, Romeo could fight the covenant without a single frag or plasma grenade with him. He only needed back-up to be safe. "There's another horde waiting for us, right?"

"Full of snipers, but you know how to get the job done. Our guests need entertainment and you have all the stuff they need..." Buck observed, noticing jackal snipers hiding on top of the buildings, probably waiting for something to come out so that they could shoot it to death.

"What am I, some sort of clown?"

"Something like that. Look, snipers up above. Be ready," Buck cut the conversation, bending near the doors as they opened. The jackals took no notice of the opening doors and resumed their normal patrol. Romeo got his SRS99D ready and aimed at the nearest jackal he could locate in his scope. Finally, when he was ready to fire, he pulled the hard trigger and the jackal was soon silenced.

The other jackal was prepared to fire back but it was too late when it was shot in the chest. Buck then complimented, "Nice work. I'm heading out right now so cover me."

With that, Buck sprinted out from the door, jumping down the stairs and hiding behind crates for cover. He barely missed a shot which was the reason why he needed Romeo's help. Romeo rolled his eyes, "I could've said yes."

He sprang out and behind a large crate and got out his sniper rifle. He aimed at a few snipers on top of a bridge and took them out within a good five seconds that impressed Buck.

Buck soon ran from his cover and to the AGS turret once again, where a Phantom was dropping more Covenant troops on the landing zone just a few meters from his position. Romeo ran after Buck, in which Jump Pack Brutes sprang into action. They hovered in the air, picking Romeo as their first target.

Romeo gulped, "Well...crap."

The first brute nearest snarled with anger, pointed its needler at the ODST and fired rapidly. Some of the needles pierced through Romeo's leg, and blood seeped out from the armor. He winced in a painful cry and gritted his teeth.

Hell no was he letting this cheap show-off win. Romeo picked out a plasma grenade and threw it into the air, and it clung onto the thick fur of another brute which was the second nearest to him. It triggered a burst of plasma energy and a cone of bone pieces and dark blood splattered onto the floor. The other brutes were affected and lost their shields due to the sudden explosion.

Romeo brandished out his MA5C and rattled the open fire, killing off all the brutes that got into his way. Skulls were vaporized and rancid bits of gory blood littered the place. Romeo tried to pull out the needles from his leg, one by one, and tolerated the sharp pain as he removed the huge stake-like things. They shone with a bright red.

"Hey, now it's your turn to cover me. I gotta heal for a sec," Romeo said, sitting near a wall beside the AGS while he took out a medkit from his backpack. He wiped off the stains from his armor and injected himself with some medicine. The pain increased then decreased, setting him at ease. All he could hear in his helmet was his relieved breath.

Meanwhile, Buck was still operating the AGS turret. A group of grunts and a Brute chieftain exiting the next room Buck and Romeo were going to enter, triggering another gunfire surprise from Buck. The grunts squealed then dropped after the plasma fire burnt their unprotected insides and the brute wasn't down though it took very much damage from the outcome.

The helmet came off of the brute's head, turning its mood from an angry to a berserk. It charged towards the AGS, but luckily for Buck, the lines of fire were enough to bring the brute down.

Buck hopped off the seat and turned to Romeo, who was already standing up and brushing off dust from his armor. Romeo depolarized his visor, showing his dark-colored and pissed off face, "How far do we have to go?"

"Be patient. Mickey will ring us up," Buck said.

"Well I don't like this party anymore."

"I do."

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**NMPD Headquarters, New Mombasa.**

**Pelican Crash site, 19:58 **

"I've already placed the Missile Pods, sir," A young NMPD officer said to Dutch as he brushed his hands to rid off dust. The team had been waiting for almost forty minutes and they had been fending off Covenant reinforcements. So far he saw no trace of Buck and Romeo coming in from the makeshift bridge which connected the two skyscrapers together, for now. Dutch had told the lad to set up Missile Pods to destroy incoming Phantoms and banshees. If he hadn't Missile Pods, it was possible for the Phantoms to destroy the 'bridge' so that Buck and Romeo couldn't regroup with them.

Dutch turned around to meet the freckled-faced man and thanked him, "Thanks. You can go rest or do whatever you want. Just be sure to inform us of anything regarding enemy hostiles."

The man nodded. "Affirmative, sir!" He ran back to his place, which was beside Mickey.

Mickey reloaded his M73 (or SMG) and gazed up at the sky. Orange was it and darkness was nearing to paint the atmosphere above. Night was nearing and no sign of the other squadron members. Nobody found Dare and Rookie yet and Romeo and Buck were the only ones he was able to reach. It seems like he had to wait longer for the two ODSTs to join up. He stood up from a trunk full of rocket-power ammunition and fiddled with his comm., activating it. He walked a good few steps and spoke into the radio, "Buck, you there? Can you read me, Gunny?"

There was a short static noise but Buck's voice soon came out clear as day. "I read you. Where the heck are you, Mickey?"

"Gunny, we're on a skyscraper opposite of yours. We've moved one of those construction cranes — made a bridge to our location," Mickey took a glance at the bridge which was made up of girders supported by the hold of a crane. He then finished his sentence, "That's the only way we could think of in order for you to cross to our location."

Buck said back, "That? Got it. Just give us a few minutes; we're heading there as soon as we can."

"Roger that." There went the buzzing noise and the comm. went dead.

"What did he say?" Dutch asked when Mickey walked over to the corporal. Mickey told him that Romeo and Buck were coming in a few minutes and Dutch shrugged, "Let's hope they'll make it safe." He took a good look at the pelican which crashed when they landed. The fire which was once burning was finally put out, and parts of the flying vehicle came off due to the impact.

The private frowned, "Looks like we lost the pilot, after all."

"Too bad," Dutch agreed.

"Hey, isn't that Buck and Romeo?" Mickey said suddenly, pointing over to the skyscraper opposite of theirs. Two figures came into view, one with a sniper rifle and another with plasma rifles. Both stopped at the edge, staring at the makeshift bridge.

Buck was amused that Romeo's jaw didn't touch the ground. Romeo didn't want to believe that such a bridge like this ever existed. It was like a tightrope walking scene just six hundred feet above ground. He smirked, "What? You're afraid of heights?"

"N-No, I'm not," Romeo shook his head but he stepped back rather fearfully from the edge. "Please, Gunny. Tell me I'm not going on that THING. This is what you call a bridge?"

"Yeah," Buck replied.

"Well, I like the invitation to this cool rooftop party on the other side but this isn't the way I would want to go for," Romeo shook his head again, looking down at the bridge. Buck came behind him and gently placed his hands on Romeo's back.

"Get going, marine. Just close your eyes and run," He cooed calmly, gently pushing Romeo so he could get off the edge and rejoin with Mickey and Dutch. This didn't work as he planned to because Romeo didn't make an effort to jump. Buck sighed again, "Oh c'mon, Romeo. This thing's stable. You won't fall unless you keep shaking your butt like a retard. Now get moving!"

He raised a leg and kicked Romeo's back, sending the ODST to fall onto one of the girders. Romeo was able to land on his feet and kept his balance, however, though his hands were trembling on his SRS99D. He sucked in two balls of air and began to run slowly, in case he would fall at any moment if he ran any faster. Buck dropped behind him, and seemed to run much faster and much calmer than Romeo was. He looked at the tense Romeo and grinned, "Look, it isn't all that bad. As long as you don't look down and ensure you're in the middle, you won't fall at all. Trust me, and don't look-"

"Will it help for you to just shut up before I kick your butt off this damn thing?" Romeo shot a dirty look at Buck who was surprised from his outburst. Buck smiled, "Alright, alright. Do your thing; it's not my problem."

He ran faster, his boots clanging on the metal material. Romeo was starting to feel calm when he noticed something different. Looking over to his right, his eyes found two purple banshees flying at high speed in their direction.

This was dangerous. This was absolutely dangerous. This was mass suicide. He froze, and then shouted, "Banshees incoming! They're coming in our direction, Gunny!"

"Let's get off this bridge quick!" Buck yelled, now sprinting as the distance between the ground and the girder closed. Romeo was far behind and tried to go faster, though his senses of fright immobilized him. His run decreased into a slight jog, and as the banshees drew near, he forced himself to speed up his pace in order to catch up with the Gunnery Sergeant.

Romeo fixated his eyes on the skyscraper - his destination to arrive in - ahead and saw Mickey taking one of the Missile Pods. The private aimed at a banshee coming for Romeo and quickly released two rockets, following the banshee until it collided with it, triggering an explosion from the banshee.

The sound was so loud that the bridge vibrated wildly, bringing Romeo to fear. He mentally told himself to bring up his pace, and his legs started to pick up some speed. Keep in the middle, be in the middle, and stay in the middle. Three phrases he had to keep in mind while he sprinted so he wouldn't fall off the edges. Another banshee was coming, and Mickey fired two other rockets, which followed the flying Covenant vehicle like so. Another explosion was triggered and the bridge shook violently again. Buck hopped off from the edge of the last girder and onto the hard floor of the rooftops before turning around to see how much Romeo had progressed.

Romeo had a distance of five good meters away from the skyscraper, and judging by the shaking vibration, he tried his best to get to the other side. A few of the girders behind him dropped as they couldn't withstand the sudden eruption. He cried out, "I'm really not going to make it, Gunny!"

Buck flinched. "Hell yes, you're going to! Hurry up! Come on; throw your legs, whatever!"

The ODST ran as fast as his legs could carry, and one meter was he away from the other side. He used the remains of his strength to jump off the girder, his body flying in the air, his hands aiming for the cold, hard yet safe floor of the skyscraper. His fingers finally touched the hard concrete, and he landed on the floor with a hard landing. His legs were the only limbs that were off the ledge and Buck helped Romeo to stand up.

The dark-skinned man depolarized his visor and sighed in relief, "Whew! That was refreshing."

Buck looked at the makeshift bridge and smiled, "Wanna do it again?"

"Over my dead body."

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**Bah, I hate the ending XD But yeah I finished it, thank god. **

**Oh yeah, and HAPPY 45TH BIRTHDAY SINGAPORE! (9 August 2010)**


	3. Sizzling MY Bait, Not Yours

**A/N:** Yes, I'm continuing! It's a long time since I've NEVER updated. Thanks for the reviews, it's worth it. I'm trying to work on the action so I'm going to edit the whole story when I finish half or perhaps everything when it's done. I'm waiting for Halo Reach and yes, I'm going to write a fic collection or fanmade adaptation similar to this when it's released. I will probably write it two months after it's released, hence I will publish it on... November?

Yes, somewhere on those lines.** Hopefully **I will finish this on time! **HOPEFULLY. **Anyways, please review! I'm seven years away from becoming a young adult!** (Subtract seven from eighteen and you'll know my age. For those who don't know. Funfact, lol)**

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**Nothing to Rejoice About, Retard**

"It's a good thing you came, Gunny. We wiped off enemy hostiles, and god there was a ton of 'em," The corners of Mickey's mouth went down with a chilling frown as the marine was glad to find his team members back. Dutch nodded and his eyes were fixated on an exhausted Romeo. Romeo was, in fact, out of breath and needed a missile pod to calm himself down. There was no guarantee Covenant reinforcements would come into their sight. He could just sense their presence everywhere. Talk about rest; nobody was getting it that day. NMPD officers were resting near the rooftop entrance where ammunition and sources of firepower were stored in a few crates. The fire from the burning Pelican soon subsided and smoke ceased to drift up into the sky to catch the enemy's interest. The ashes of the bodies were uncleared. Mickey then commented on the heavily damaged vehicle, "We're not going anywhere on air. We have to walk on foot."

Romeo knew what that meant. "That means more Covenant forces coming in, right?" Of course, everybody knew that. It all seemed endless; the enemies would re-spawn on every floor they descended on. Jackals, drones, brutes, grunts, you name it. They had to defend the rooftops; it was the first spot they thought was a hotel taxi waiting area for ambushes. Buck just shrugged, and looked at Dutch. "Mind if you spare us some ammo?" He asked smugly.

The corporal stood out of the sergeant's way and said rather surprisingly, "Go help yourself. Besides, we have to stay put in case more Covenant show up. We crash landed and blew our cover."

"Obviously," Romeo muttered under his breath, stifling a chuckle and avoiding his friend's cold stare. Buck strolled over to a crate of MA5C rounds and took four magazines from it. He smacked them in, checking that the clip was full, and went on for some grenades. He then beckoned Romeo to come after noticing a pile of grenades sitting peacefully beside a crate full of rockets. Romeo followed and joined the Gunny, expectantly waiting for an order. Instead, Buck turned and said, "C'mon, dig in. You've been hiding like a sore thumb in that corner."

"Naw, Gunny. I was just thinking about something," Romeo replied. He crouched on the floor and picked up two SRS99D magazines, and shoved them into the opening where the clips were inserted. The gun was smoky from plasma burns and the condition was horrible. There were no words to describe or elaborate his disgust for the almost broken and useless weapon.

Buck grew interested. "Thinking about what?" He demanded with curiosity.

"About the Rookie and _Miss_. Naval Intelligence, of course," The soldier huffed. True, there were no signs of Veronica Dare and Lance Corporal J.D. The city was in chaos, as expected, and the only thing Romeo thought in his mind was to flee, _pronto_. Buck took off his helmet and set it at his side. Romeo didn't hesitate to continue, "It's been hours. I mean, seriously: we haven't seen them for hours too. Take a rotten potato chip as Mombasa for instance, dip it in dark chocolate which is the enemy fleet and-"

"That's gross, Romeo!" Buck cringed. Nevertheless, he knew Romeo's point.

Romeo responded immediately, "That's the point, Gunny. This is what Mombasa City's gonna be if we don't make a move. I suggest we fast forward into finding that Mother Goose and get our asses out of here."

"Don't get me on my nerve, Romeo. Now's the time to relax; to have tons of ammo. Yeah... I know it sucks being trapped in this damn city but look on the bride side: we got Mickey and Dutch," Buck pointed out while looking over at the two ODSTs busy having a conversation with each other. Supposedly they were talking of the same subject but in a different perspective...or perhaps slightly different from Romeo's use of vocabulary. Buck wiped his helmet and sidearms to clean off crispy blood, "I bet we'll be out of here in no time. "

The sniper smiled grimly, "I just hope you're right."

Signaling the end of their conversation, He loaded his crappy SRS99D and whacked it to have good measure. He locked his grip on the handle and stood up to join Dutch and Mickey. Buck followed after, having the same patience as Romeo as they both wasted seconds walking on the familiar rooftop they once walked on in the past. The sky was painted with a welcoming evening, almost welcoming the night that was about to pour into the atmosphere. The sight was still beautiful, though, and Buck had never seen the Earth's skies in such a poignant way. He was oblivious to find a warming sunset. War was still continuing and he longed for something to put it to an end.

He kept staring and observing the sky, thinking that something will fall out of it. Somehow, as though his wish was granted, Buck noticed something different in the sky. A small, fragment of the sky slowly moved an inch. What?

"ENEMY SIGHTED! TAKE COVER!" Mickey suddenly yelled upon seeing the fragment which manifested in the air. It turned off its invisible camouflage and revealing the purple damnation of an incoming banshee. Another fragment manifested into a Phantom dropship. The engines of it roared loudly with yells of readiness from the reinforcements that were about to descend through the Phantom's gravity lift. The banshee spotted the stunned Mickey and materialized a green orb of plasma energy. When it was fully charged, the flying aircraft released the ball of plasma.

"I wonder why I'm not surprised, Dutch," Romeo rubbed his chin while looking at Dutch.

"I don't see why you're so calm when there's a freakin' ball of energy hauling our friend's ass, Romeo."

The energy shot teared through the air like a meteor heading towards Mickey's position, its menacing fiery light meeting the private's eyes. Mickey instinctively jumped and dropped to the ground so as to evade the deadly hit. If the soldier were to be directly hit, god knows what would happen to him. He landed with a grunt, but quickly recovered when he stood up. His lower legs were scarred, how nice.

Dutch was now signaling everybody into combat. He made a subtle hand signal at Romeo though the sniper was already fleeing from Dutch until he reached a mounted missile pod. He positioned himself to face the Phantom, and after making the right coordinates, he took a breath. He opened fire, releasing several missiles which raced towards the incoming Phantom.

In each shot one of the Phantom's parts were damaged until the whole ship lurched. The screeching cries of the engine noted its end.

It detonated in a self-explosion, bits of Phantom parts falling down near the skyscraper walls. Bodies of infantries also fell to their deaths. Romeo The banshee that was occupying Mickey's attention noticed Romeo waving at it in a frantic manner. Eager to take him out, it soared towards him. Romeo smirked at the banshee's response. _Yeah, that's a good banshee. Just come into my little friend's view. _

"Romeo!" Dutch yelled.

"I got him!" Romeo shouted and pulled his finger. A burst of firepower rushed out of the missile pod's barrel then charged at the banshee with much tremendous speed. The pilot of the banshee flinched, and made an attempt to flee as soon as possible. However, the three missiles had met with the banshee's core and detonated, followed by the explosion and the fate of the enemy. The banshee was vaporized and the explosion was like a crack in thunder. Remains of the aircraft were burnt and they smelled horrible. Romeo grinned, "Guess I got the hang of it!"

Buck smiled at him sarcastically, "Well, I'm glad you got the shot. But now we have more company!" He was right. Through the dusty smoke were more waves of banshees and a batch of infantry dropping off from the Phantom dropship. Buck was the first to react and grabbed as many frag grenades he could carry. Without words to say, he volunteered to take out the first group of Covenant infantries.

Jumping off the edge to the lower platform, He charged at the large number of infantry and swung his arm to throw a grenade. It seemed suicidal, but the results were good. Many brutes' shields were down when they were near the explosions; some even died. The remaining Covenant growled and the monstrous furry Brutes raised their weapons. They snarled evenly with revenge, their eyes bloodshot.

NMPD officers tried to give help by firing pistol rounds at the brutes, instantly and fatally injuring their heads. Snapping pistol rounds could be heard, one by one with brute voices lamenting within each shot.

Four grenades and four catastrophic yet wonderful fireworks-like explosions later, almost all the brutes Buck needed to strike off his list were gone. Grunts' heads snapped side to side in search of their Chieftain, trying to locate a brute they could address as their leader. A grunt in orange armor cowered with a squeal and tried to face Buck with a quivering plasma pistol. Buck rammed into that grunt and punch to its face, breaking the mask and the poor face of the helpless alien.

A loud, boom of thunder was heard. The Gunnery Sergeant looked up from the lower level and witnessed another banshee being put down by the two powerful missiles from Dutch's missile pod. The body of the banshee dropped on the lower platform and crushed a jackal under its heavy weight. The fallen brute - or the pilot of that banshee - fell onto the ground with a defeated moan. The body was on the edge of the upper platform and Buck was glad it didn't fall on him.

He then proceeded to knock a nearby grunt with the back of his rifle and shove a few rounds into its mouth. Taking out his MA5C, Buck punched out bullets at a few grunts and jackals, taking time to kill each and every one of them.

Buck took cover behind the damaged banshee and crouched on the floor to regain his breath. The sound of his heart pounding was not as loud as the situation the other squad members were in. He found out the large volume of ammo he wasted and smacked in few fresh magazines.

Charging out from his position, Buck ran in an ammo-wasting frenzy, dodging every shot he ran into. He jumped forward and swung down a plasma grenade as it clung onto the leg of a jackal. The alien panicked, and the grenade detonated. The explosion sent the grunts flying off the skyscraper and bright blue and violet blood adorned the gory area.

The sergeant depolarized his visor, equally tired as the rest of the men. The banshees were taken down and now it felt quiet. Peacefully quiet, for the moment.

"_Another Phantom inbound! More banshees coming! Heads UP!_" An NMPD officer called through the comm. and Buck's eyes darted all over the sky until he found the target the ODSTs were looking for. Dutch picked up a M6 Spartan Laser just as Buck ran up to the upper platform, "We got Phantom on our left! Someone take care of the banshees!"

"God dammit, there's a whole load of Phantoms today," Romeo gritted his teeth, wiping sweat from his hands, "Thank god I still have tons of ammo."

"I'm on it, Gunny!" Dutch replied, and picked up the heavy weapon. He locked on an incoming banshee which flew in a zig-zag movement towards him. He readied his laser and tapped the trigger, until the time was right.

The corporal pulled it, and a fantastic beam of red shot out at the banshee. It was instantly vaporized like the others, and the screeching aircraft crashed onto the rooftop just behind Dutch's position. He did the same to another banshee and the results came out the same. Each beam was worth a line of five banshees.

One banshee down and another to come. A particular one didn't seem to offer its surrender when it flew to the skyscraper rooftops with an overloading boost. It released a barrage of bright, blue bullets in a berserk manner and swung in each direction the squad didn't fire at.

It was going to take one hell of ammo and guts to take this baby back into the garage.

Dutch had only a moment to allow the laser to cool down and he didn't waste time in shaking it to ensure the weapon's coordinates were still online. After the cool-down, he immediately locked on the unstoppable banshee, setting his hesitance and tension aside. The banshee didn't give the corporal the chance to fire at it and tried to stall him by opening up a burst of more blueish plasma.

"Someone help me out here!" Dutch yelled out loudly, and a few NMPD officers joined up with pistols, MA5Cs and battle rifles snapping, rattling and clattering.

In the converge of fire, the banshee was lured into the Spartan laser's view, showing red in the middle of the scope. One of its wings was damaged and the brute piloting it growled in disapproval. Dutch was finally given the opportunity to set fire, a gleam of crimson set loose on a straight line. The banshee evaporated, leaving pieces of debris and a dead, unlucky brute.

An NMPD officer, who was shoving mags into his SRS99D smelled something smoky in the air. He looked up, finding banshee bits from a vehicle destroyed by Romeo's missiles, which were about to fall on the man himself when they were falling high above from the air. He froze dead on his spot, his eyes staring at the burning remains.

Dutch found the officer frozen in time and shouted, "Marine, get out of the way, NOW!"

The officer jerked its head to Dutch's direction and quickly nodded. He reached for an empty, safe spot and flung himself at it, landing hard on his face. He was glad he saved the sniper rifle though his nose wasn't feeling all that good. Dutch pulled a smug yet concerned look and recognized the SRS99D's owner immediately.

He yelled at Romeo, "Romeo! Was that your banshee you destroyed!"

"Yeah, why? THESE THINGS KEEP COMING AT ME!" Romeo almost screamed. He had just took out a flying banshee and a few at the fleeing ones. In fact, he didn't want to talk at all this time. Less talking, more shooting. He was quite the hypocrite.

Dutch concealed his disappointed look, "Just take note you almost killed our faithful marine."

"Uhuh?" Romeo was bemused, and full of doubt.

"And your sniper rife!" Mickey added for Dutch.

"..." He was immediately silenced. Romeo then burst, "That was the last snipe I ever had!"

Dutch just smacked his helmet and dismissively waved his hand, "Nevermind. You better watch where you're shooting, Romeo." The NMPD officer's mouth had curved a slight frown but he secretly nodded in agreement. Romeo didn't notice it, luckily. He returned to his position near Mickey and aimed Romeo's SRS99D at infantries preparing to exit the dropship through the gravity lift.

Upon firing at them, another Phantom was shot down by Romeo and another was coming. Dutch cried out, "Another Phantom, on approach! Filled with jet-pack Brutes! Hit 'em hard!"

Buck groaned. How he hated those bastards. He motioned for Mickey to give him a hand in handling those brutes and smacked in another magazine into his MA5C. Just two mags left and he would have to swap for another weapon. Mickey threw a large AIE-486H at the Gunnery Sergeant when he arrived. Buck had to arm the MA5C behind his back again before catching the machine gun, his hands barely missing the handles. He grinned at Mickey sarcastically, "Thanks. I need this."

"Your welcome, Gunny," Mickey performed a mock salute. He reloaded the assault rifle hurriedly and slipped past the other ODSTs before advancing down the stairs. A brute hovering in the air with a jet-pack on its back took the first shot upon finding the private sneaking up to them. It roared as its plasma rifle missed the shots.

Mickey ran with the weapon in his hand, opening up the first batch of snapping fire as the bullets pierced through the enemy's skin. The brutes which landed on the floor stepped back in pain but held their ground. They fired at the soldier but Mickey dodged their meager attempts to catch him, simultaneously killing them in the backs with a burst of bullets and a melee in the spot he could feel their spines crack.

He was supported and given cover by Buck's help of his machine gun. Buck had a good angle to throw the brutes down to the mud and he did it quite well. The armor-piercing ammo was just the type he needed for a brute killing spree. The rate of fire was moderate but it served good kills. Mickey didn't throw the towel and decided to melee the distracted enemies in the back with his rocket launcher. Taking out his M41, he sneaked past the bodies and avoided Buck's line of fire.

The first grunt he saw was armed with a needler and it cackled with delight when Buck almost and barely failed to dodge the fast-moving green ball. The red-toned ODST prepared himself and, with a thrust, he swung the M41 at the grunt with force.

The grunt's backpack or its tank of methane exploded in a small burst before blue blood could squirt out of its mask. The alien whined in pain and eventually fell to the ground, defeated.

Mickey then grabbed a plasma grenade from the dead Grunt and threw it with a swing at the alarmed group of brutes. It clung to the hairs of one brute, before evaporating it in the explosion. Brandishing out his MA5C, he shot out a burst of rounds and pierced through the brutes' chances to take him out. He had to run with his eyes closed to the nearest brute he heard and hit its face with the back of his MA5C before going back to kill another one, having to dodge Buck's machine gun rounds.

"The more I kill, the more blood I get on my armor," Mickey frowned when a speck of blood splashed onto his helmet visor. Wiping it away with the back of his hand, he cringed in disgust. He conserved his assault rifle ammo by swapping it for a spiker. There were only five brutes left. Four, three, left after two eliminated by Buck. Mickey had to finish off the last three.

Using only the enemy's spiker in his hand, Mickey ran and ran with his finger locked and the trigger pulled. Glowing spikes, different from the Needler's, shot out from the barrel and into the brutes' face as he quickly turned to shoot another brute when he finished filling one's face with full of spikes. The last brute stepped back, trying to pull the needle-like stakes out of its face.

The ODST threw the useless spiker to the floor and changed for his M41 rocket launcher. He kicked the last brute in the nuts and punched it with his rocket launcher, causing the needly spikes to drive in and completely and fatally injuring the brute's brain.

Running away to get a good distance, he called out to Buck, "Gunny! Step back!"

Buck heard Mickey's signal and disappeared from sight on the higher platform, allowing Mickey to finish off what's been living there without killing his allies. Smacking his rocket launcher, he ensured that the system was online.

The only two brutes were still struggling to remove the huge needles from their faces. The only thing they heard were their own cries and whines, nothing else. Blackish-blue blood oozed out from their wounds and their voices grew weak with each removal of the spikes. Their attempts, however, backfired.

The sound of firepower rang through the air and they could clearly smell the wisp of smoke coming in their direction. Turning around for only a split second, the brutes were thrown away into the air after the rocket collided with them.

The explosion was great and catastrophic and the effect was just as Mickey expected. The brutes were flung off the building, falling down from almost a hundred stories high to their fate. Through the smoke, Mickey was brushing his palms against a wall to rid of blood. He grabbed his MA5C which was sitting alone on the floor and made his way back to the top.

"We're fighting off the last of the last now, Mickey. Could use some help on the banshees," Buck smiled, holding another M41 on his shoulder. He pointed at Dutch and Romeo, "They're finishing off the Phantoms so... yeah."

Mickey nodded, "Alright, Gunny." He waved his hand slowly in a, "Whatever you say. Just hand me a shotgun, please."

* * *

**Sizzling MY Bait, Not Yours**

"Looks like we're doing good," Romeo shouted with satisfactory when some banshees turned their direction to flee from the ODSTs. Finally he was relieved they retreat; his hands were sore and sustained bruises. There was only one Phantom left. After finishing it off, they were good to go in a search for the Rookie and Dare. He complained, "Can't these go away now?"

Buck just shrugged, "Not if we take care of it."

The dark-skinned marine was disappointed but he still had enough energy to bring the Phantom down. Taking the missile pod in his bare hands, he unmounted it with a slight grunt. After giving - or throwing it - to Dutch, the corporal rushed to the crate to fill in more rockets into his pod. He threw the lid and hurriedly grabbed as many rockets the Missile Pod could carry. Slotting them in, the more dust popped out of the weapon. Mickey was trying to wipe off blood from his armor and Buck was in desperate need to contact his captain, Dare, while Romeo and Dutch attempted to take the Covenant vehicle out.

The NMPD officer who 'took care' of Romeo's SRS99D ran towards him, with the sniper rifle in his hand. The condition wasn't good, but better functional than never. He spoke with a thick Australian accent, "Here's your snipe, sir. Sorry if it's damaged badly; Covenant just keeps pouring out."

Romeo nodded slowly, "This will really go into the trash. But good work though." He gave the officer a reluctant thumbs-up before the officer could scamper back with his fellow colleague-friend near the weaponry stock. Romeo glanced at the SRS99D and sighed.

"Brute Chieftain, on sight!" Buck yelled his voice strained. Romeo blinked and bit his lip. Not another one of those bastards again; he had enough for breakfast. Running towards Dutch, he watched the giant and big Brute descending from the gravity lift. Raising his SRS99D, Romeo wanted to get a clear shot though he wasn't able to. The brute had already went out of his aim. It tore up the stairs, waving its Gravity Hammer like a heavy club in a golf competition. "SCATTER!"

Mickey's shotgun snapped along with his hesitance. Dutch threw the missile pod aside and whipped out his assault rifle out. The NMPD officer Romeo met with earlier took his MA5C and sprinted towards the the ODST group, allowing the Helljumpers to buy some time while he distracted the enemy.

The brute snarled at the marine and ripped around with its Gravity Hammer, the weapon meeting up with the officer's neck. The man could only feel the hard, electrical feeling in his limbs and nothing else.

The officer was thrown out of the way quite brutally. Blood was seen coughed out of his mouth, making Romeo's eyes widen.

"W-whoa!" Romeo shook, finally given a shot of the brute. He raised the SRS99D and pulled his finger; despite the fact he was shocked to see his sniper-rifle-caretaker's nuts being beaten up by the Chieftain. To his expectations, the brute's shields were lost and the only quickest way was to melee it.

The blue-themed ODST was about to turn his sniper rifle over when the brute finally went in a berserk trance. It stepped towards him, causing Romeo to fall back and hitting a slab of concrete behind him. No, he didn't experience being _this_ close to being cornered by a brute, and a Chieftain at that. It swept its Gravity Hammer up with a loud growl, and Romeo used his SRS99D as a shield.

It was a moment before Romeo could feel something in his chest crack. His heart pounded louder in his helmet and a sharp pain in his left lung prevented him to breath properly. The brute had brought the back of the Gravity Hammer to Romeo's left side of his chest, breaking through the armor. Although it hurt, the SRS99D provided enough protection before the sharp edge of the large weapon could reach the core of the wound. The SRS99D was attached to the Gravity Hammer due to the impact caused. The brute roared with confidence and victory, preparing to finish off the wounded ODST.

"You son of a-!" Buck quickly reacted, brandishing out his combat knife. The brute was about to kill the helpless marine when his neck was grabbed by the Gunnery Sergeant. Buck tried to make a blind spot on its neck and shoved his knife into brute's neck. He tried to hang onto the brute as long as he can; the knife driving into the blood vessels.

Dutch flinched, and Mickey tried to have a clean shot on the brute. He couldn't because Buck was on it, and decided to take the alternate option: tackle the brute to the ground for Dutch to take the shot. He lunged at the brute, helping Buck in forcing it to the ground. Mickey breathed, "Somebody take this bastard out!"

The death-marked corporal responded by dropping his primary weapon and quickly flung himself at the two ODSTs and the brute, charging it with a shoulder to the chest.

The brute whined in pain and struggled to get the three ODSTs off its tail. It was too late: the knife had already reached the heart of the end of its life and the brute collapsed onto the floor, dead. It was over, and Dutch cocked his fists in a boxing motion while Mickey tried to get up from the floor. Both smiled in relief, but soon they heard a voice under the dead brute. A muffled voice, to be precise.

"Get. This. Thing. Off. Of. Me," The voice said, catching the pair's attention. A hand was waving. Dutch and Mickey helped to turn over the dead brute, so that Buck would stand up. He brushed off the dust and reached for the knife stuck in the brute's neck. Taking it out, he shook it, smearing blood on the floor and on Dutch's armor. Dutch backed away slightly but Romeo cried in pain. Placing his hand over the wound, he coughed and Mickey bent down to check Romeo's wound. A bit of blood squirted out from the hole in the armor. Buck asked hastily, "How bad?"

The situation was bad; Buck knew this wasn't good. Still, he questioned to find if Romeo could talk. He couldn't lose a teammate in the battle, the team couldn't allow it. Romeo's visor depolarized, and he removed his hand from the wound. Talking with much difficulty, he gasped for breath, "A-Ahh, not good."

Mickey reassured his friend, "Don't worry. We're going to get you out of here."

"Not by air we're not," Dutch frowned. He gestured toward the Pelican. They had to find a way without using a Pelican. With Romeo's wound, Dutch knew it wasn't going to be easy calling for help. Mickey glanced at Dutch and curved his lips in a straight line.

Buck sighed, "It's alright. We can go by walking." He let out a hand, and Romeo took it with a quivering one. The Gunnery Sergeant helped the sniper up, took Romeo's arm and put it around his shoulder. Buck wanted to use himself as support for Romeo, and Romeo winced. The cut in his body was unbearable and he couldn't withstand the pain. Romeo gasped again, "A-Ahh!"

"I know another way." Buck smiled. "Also, we can use him as bait."

"Oh god."

"Just kidding. ...But seriously."


	4. Postcards On The Jackass Mobile

**A/N: **Why do I have a feeling that school is always swallowing me up? Well, I do have this problem almost all the time. Of course I have loads of free time at home but I can't seem to get a clear idea for the chapters/fics/stories or whatever in this site. I just don't have the urge to write them all. Writer's block, perhaps?

Ah, crap. I dun wanna have it. Anyway, here's the next chapter featuring Romeo (bait) and the rest of the squad (fishermen). After this chapter, I believe I'll be posting some of the Team Fortress oneshots soon. Maybe on Thursday, Friday? Somewhere around those days. Hopefully I'll finish two oneshots within this week. I'm dying to publish some fiction because this week is my holiday week. I hope you all can stay tune because I don't know what to write even!

********

Enjoy~

* * *

**Digital Replayer With No Music**

"Just hang on a bit longer; we're almost near to the station." Buck's voice failed to calm the sniper down. Romeo had only heard his cold breath and pounding heart ramming in his helmet, creating a brutal melody in his mind.

The four ODSTs walked cautiously in the neon night, a city showered in darkness and illuminating street lights. Bodies of the Covenant and Humans laid peacefully on the floor beside the blood patches they shed before the squad arrived. The streets were enshrouded in a thin fog of cold. It wrapped the ODSTs in a thick blanket, surrounding them like a whirlpool. They were only a few buildings away - perhaps four, five? - and Romeo was already feeling as though he wanted to die. The pain in his chest was still quite unbearable but the encouragement from his friends helped to lighten his mood up. As for Buck, however, he was feeling the same as the wounded arms were already aching from helping Romeo. He would rather drop him and stretch all his worn out muscles. Dutch and Mickey didn't allow it though.

Romeo exhaled deeply, "A-are we there yet...? i don't think I c-could hold much longer here, Gunny." He raised his head slowly, his neck craning for a view as it cracked with a stretch. The sniper's eyes could see the clouds forming in the black sky, the deserted buildings which were heavily damaged in the firefight and litters of weapons, shattered glass and such. The cold gust of wind breathed gently at his wound, and Romeo shuddered. He really wanted to fall dead that moment.

Buck frowned helplessly, "Sorry, Romeo. I can't put you down yet; we don't know if there's more Covenant on our tracks." He saw how Romeo's hopes fell but he couldn't do anything. Only Mickey and Dutch could handle incoming enemies. He could only help and be Romeo's protection. It felt strange, wrong. Nevertheless, Buck would do anything to keep his team member and faithful friend alive.

_Crack.  
_  
"Drones. Coming from the East. Keep low," Dutch warned, upon noticing fady transparent wings and the sound of their flapping in the echoes of the dead area. Their greenish skin hinted their presence and he wasn't the only one who had figured they were here. The corporal looked at Buck who nodded firmly in response. Carrying Romeo with the remainings of his strength, he quickly and carefully made his way to shelter. Romeo had to resist the pain and the difficulty he had to face. As the two ODSTs hurried away, the sound of drones could be heard more clearer and louder. Dutch then said to Mickey, "Romeo and Gunny are hiding in the West so keep them in the East as long as possible."

"Got it, Dutch," Mickey replied with a swap from him M41 to his MA5C. The shotgun he got earlier had its shells gone and he had to take an MA5C from a dead marine on the way. The eerie and screechy sound of the buggers filled the city's monotone with a sudden burst of alarm. It felt like as though a dinosaur had just came out of a movie in a cinema. However, this was much worse. The last thing Mickey wanted to deal with first is slimy greenish blood staining his armor.

Meanwhile, the other two ODSTs were scampering towards a damaged door leading to the insides of an apartment building. Buck tried to pry one of the doors open with an arm, causing them to slide and crash onto the floor. Several fragments of glass littered the floor but that didn't matter. He dragged Romeo in until they were in a safe unmarked spot before he could set the blue ODST down.

Romeo slumped onto the floor, his visor depolarizing to show his weary face. He lamented with difficulty as he desperately gulped in balls of air to talk, "I n-need some bio-foam.."

"Sorry, cupcake. I ran out. I think Dutch has some but he's out so you have to wait." Buck's disappointed face was shown crystal clear in his depolarized visor. Romeo was feeling the same and oblivious at the same time. He needed a medkit but since there was none at the moment, he had to resist the temptation to rip his hair off his head. Romeo tried to cool his impatience by asking, "Why won't you go out there and fight, Gunny? You know I could stay here."

Buck shrugged his shoulders off. "Nah, you're not old enough yet. Besides, if I get out there, who's going to keep you company and make sure no grunts bite your kneecaps off?" He questioned, pointing a finger in Romeo's face. Romeo considered the question as an unanswerable one because Buck didn't expect him to answer it. Of course.

"If you say so, Gunny. You sound like you're my babysitter," Romeo said honestly. Buck cringed, "God, it sucks to be one. Especially being one who babysits my number one sniper! Now then, if you'll excuse me."

He went to a rusty cabinet and threw the locked doors open with all his might. Dust popped out, and Buck had to shield his eyes so that they won't catch the dust. M6C SOCOMs greeted him with full ammunition, magazines punched in and all nice and clean - apart from the dust that still clinged onto them. Buck took two of them, and shook them to clean off the dust. Romeo watched the Gunnery Sergeant as he withstood the pain in his torso. The cold made it feel numb so he couldn't feel a thing at all. For now, that is.

Moving stealthily to near the window, Buck checked through the opening made from the shards of glass which was smashed earlier during the day. He heard nothing but the soft, crunch of leaves and splashes of water made by Mickey's and Dutch's boots and the buzzing noises of the drones closing in around the area. He knew those drones would come in swarms; they were like a whole beehive, without a queen. . Upon seeing his private and corporal preparing themselves, he turned back to look at Romeo. "You still okay?" He asked.

"K-kind of. What's going on out there?" Romeo painfully spoke with a little voice.

Buck grimly smiled, "Hard to say, but just stay here, will you? Oh, and try to play dead." Romeo gave him a dirty look, but sighed. He placed his hand at his wound, tilted his head slightly - with his visor still depolarized - and closed his eyes. He looked like a sleeping fellow. Irritated, he asked, "Is this good enough?"

The Gunnery Sergeant pulled a smug look. "Hmm. Just stick out your tongue; it's better that way."

Raising an eyebrow in suspicion, Romeo stuck out his tongue - at Buck as a disrespectful response. It didn't take long for him to cough and shove his tongue back into his mouth. He wheezed, and shook with a grimace. Buck couldn't stifle his chuckle. He moaned, "Damn dust went on my tongue! Bleagh."

"That's what you get, not me," Buck said simply. He turned his back on Romeo, and leaned to get a view of the outside.

Dutch reloaded his MA5C with a fast, swift movement of a hand. He steadied himself, making sure he had all the power he needed to take these beasts down. Nodding at Mickey, Dutch crept over to a water fountain and crouched low. Up above he saw the buggers flying in their direction, completely unaware that he and Mickey were here. They knew they heard some humans lurking in the avenue. Mickey hid behind a tree, waiting for Dutch to blow his cover. In a few seconds both would be calling the pest extermination squad. Run out, open fire and evade incoming shots. The ordinary plan Dutch and Mickey had always carried out.

Mickey leaned a little to his left, raising his assault rifle to get a shot of a drone aimlessly flying around. A cocky smirk formed at his lips, and he took a moment to wipe off sweat from his fingers on his pants. Finally having the finger on the trigger, he paused. Dutch took the signal and immediately jumped out of his position at the fountain. The jump startled the aliens at first and before they could respond, a crackle of MA5C ammo bursted out, piercing them through their not-so bulletproof skin. Dutch ran in random directions - running backwards and sideways - while he locked his attention on every drone until they were down. Rifles snapped, and more ammunition was wasted. Tens, twenties he wiped out those drones. More were coming, however, and he had to save his ammo.

This time, Dutch lunged for a hiding space. Mickey jumped into action by being the next to blow his cover. He opened up his fire, bullets shooting out of the smoky barrel as they reached the injured and dazed drones' cores. Cries of drones were heard before the thuds were sounded. Bodies fell, blood seeping out, some splattered on Mickey's armor. Just as he expected, ugh. Throwing out an empty clip, he quickly shoved in a full fresh magazine just in time before the revengeful drones could attack.

A small but penetrating ball of plasma whizzed through the air, barely missing Mickey if he hadn't took a big step to his side. He replied with much annoyance by killing them with another clip despite most of his ammunition being used up. In no time, a three-quarter of drones were gone and the rest was up for Dutch to entertain them. Mickey suddenly noticed something and a swear escaped with a thin voice.

"Ah, hell: brutes..." He muttered. Dutch shook his head in a disapproved glance. Honestly, that was uncalled for. Nonetheless, this was Mombasa City. When abandoned, nothing makes sense. Mickey told Dutch, "I'm going for the gorillas. If I'm dead, don't go to my funeral."

"Affirmative. I'll just send the flowers by mail," Dutch grinned. He watched Mickey who ran quietly, trying to be unseen so that he could plan an ambush on those brutes. Dutch, in the meantime continued his outbreak of deadly rounds. Several bullets indeed hit the jackpot but some missed unfortunately. The drones were almost wiped out, each falling to the ground like dead flies. One by one Dutch began to feel quite encouraged. After a few more kills he would be able to help Mickey with handling those brutes.

An unshot drone landed on a platform, trying to get a good angle to shoot Dutch. Much to its startlement, Dutch had zipped towards it. He grabbed its deformed head and forced it to the floor, breaking the soft skull and splattering blood all over his visor. The blood eventually dripped down his helmet and a windshield helped to wipe off for him. Dutch cringed in disgust but he didn't hesitate to waste any precious second.

Whipping his MA5C at the drones, he quickly aimed at them and locked his finger - pulled at the trigger.

Mickey crept near the corner, and saw some brutes noticing Dutch killing off their allies. One of them roared with anger, and brandished out its spiker. Mickey slowly slid through the small gap made by a brute's back and a sharp edge of a wall. He made a clean view of the brutes' backs, and took out his combat knife. Hit them in the neck, then a whack with the rocket launcher. It was just as simple as that, so he shouldn't have much of a problem killing one. However, he had to take care of the other brutes when they found out he was killing their bloody friend.

Averting his eyes from the brutes and focusing his attention on only one, he held a firmer grip of his knife. There was the clean spot; the spot that was exposed, unprotected. He bent down, like a hunter, coming for its pray. Then, Mickey lunged at the brute, forcing the knife into its neck and pulling out his M41. The brute was finally alert and pulled up quite a struggle. He tried to cover its mouth at the same time as he whacked the brute's head with the M41, driving the knife in. The brute gave out no sound after the knife pierced through its blood vessels. Purplish blood only gushed out and a painful moan.

When the brute had finally been killed, Mickey grabbed the body and gently lowered it on the floor so as to make no sound. He pulled out the knife and shook off the blood. The other brutes weren't there to witness the assassination; that was good enough. Each brute were in different positions: near a tree, in a corner, guarding the doors up to the apartments but not near Buck and Romeo's position. Some were heading to Dutch's position. Mickey had to cover him as long as possible. Taking out his MA5C, the only option he had was to melee them and knock them out with the rocket launcher. Then he would be able to finish them off with a burst of rounds to the brain.

He scampered towards a brute, which noticed Mickey charging at it. It prepared to fire when only a single spike ran out of its barrel. Mickey shoved the assault rifle into its chest. Blood coughed out of the brute's mouth. Mickey then used his M41 to knock the brute on the head, breaking its nose. The brute fell to the ground, enabling Mickey to take out his assault rifle and kill it with a burst of three bullets.

The line of brutes clumsily came to a halt. Mickey threw a plasma grenade at the huddled group and turned around to rejoin with Dutch. Dutch was just finishing his last kill which appeared to be a helpless, bastard drone. He looked up from the dead alien to find his friend running toward him, tired as can be. "Is that all of them?" He cried out tiredly.

"I think so, corporal. Maybe after this we'll be able to make our way to the station," Mickey smiled in a nervous anticipation. Dutch nodded slowly, thinking that they should be able to make it. The brutes were struggling to stand up from the explosion that detonated earlier, only to fell back as their knees and limbs were cooked. Plasma burns scarred their faces and an odd combination of roars and barks filled their fury. They raised their plasma rifles, spikers, needlers or any other weapon they were carrying in their bulky hands. It seemed that they weren't happy to find Dutch and Mickey in their way. Mickey frowned, "I was expecting them to be dead."

"Your estimations might as well be incorrect, Mickey." Dutch huffed. Mickey just smiled again in embarrassment.

"What are you doing, Gunny...?" Romeo, still in the trashed apartment, questioned wearily. His whole body was so numb he couldn't feel his own hands and legs. Sitting in this position made him restless and at the same time miserable. Buck was rummaging through cabinets, cupboards and drawers. He was throwing out unused and wasted items such as broken cups, rusty scraps of metal and empty canisters of bio-foam medicine. He didn't seem to talk at all actually. His hands were doing all the talking with only incomprehensible words spoken out. Romeo couldn't figure what he was looking for and hoped that he would make it fast. The Gunnery Sergeant didn't bother to reply back and, instead, flung a half-full water bottle behind his shoulder in Romeo's direction. The bottle had hit his head, and Romeo groaned. "Do I look like a trash can to you?-"

The rest of his sentence was interrupted by a series of coughs. Buck turned his head and a smug look was written on his face. He answered, "Yes and no."

Taking out a canister, he rattled it to check if some liquid is still left inside it. There was some, and he sighed in relief. Buck strode over to Romeo and waved the canister in his hand. Romeo was almost barely happy. The sniper looked at the canister then at Buck. He asked impatiently, despite his wheezing, "Well? What are you waiting for?"

"Christmas." Buck went on his knees and studied Romeo's wound. It wasn't... that deep but he would be able to tend it. Given the sufficient amount of time and bio-foam, Romeo should be able to breathe properly again. The cut was the length of a normal person's hand and the opening was big enough for the needle to go through. Buck pressed the sprayer lightly, ensuring that it wasn't clogged or blocked. He then warned Romeo, "This is just going to hurt for a little teeny second."

Romeo sighed. "I'm prepared for whatever it takes."

Buck grinned. "Alright then. Your punctured lung should be okay after this." Without another word, he punched in the needle into Romeo's chest. Indeed was it painful - Romeo winced in intense pain until he gradually calmed down, the frothy bio-foam seeping into his wound. Then his wound felt numb and he couldn't feel much of the pain at all. Nevertheless, he knew the numbness would only last for a few hours or so.

"T-thanks, Gunny. I thought I was going to be fried alive," Romeo couldn't hide his grateful voice. Still, both had to wait until the area was clear. Until then, they should stay put and keep low out of enemy's sight. Romeo had to play dead for once; it didn't seem satisfying to be dead on the floor with other dead people.

"I considered changing my mind but... yeah you're not going to be cooked alive." Buck chuckled, ignoring Romeo's eye twitching. He peered out of the window again, checking if Dutch and Mickey had already wiped out enemy infantries and the pesky drones.

A few brutes were having a fight with the ODSTs; it wasn't that serious or anything. Buck commented on the struggle, "They pack up a whole pop-a trouble there. It's a pity we can't join them." Romeo frowned slightly, pain and boredom stirring in his mind. He had to admit: he wanted to join in the fight but the wound on his lung stopped him from doing so.

"God dammit," Romeo whispered to himself. Buck pretended not to hear that.

"Only two brutes LEFT!" Dutch growled. Two brutes: one armed with a crimson plasma rifle and another with a bright violet needler. Crackling roars blared throughout the city and they stomped their feet like boastful braggers. Blood trickled down their foreheads and some openings from their burnt armor. Mouth curved into grimaces and teeth gritting so hard they almost cracked. Their black eyes grew menacing with pure revenge engraved in each eye. Death wishes were given. Dutch and Mickey weren't the only ones who witnessed the transformation of their berserk trance; everybody gets to experience it once in a while.

Mickey held his MA5C tighter, and braced himself. To kill these two again, both him and Dutch had to lure them into a state of confusion. That would buy him a few seconds to plan his responding attack. Mickey, in his armor, was already sweating like hell. The work he had to do was too much for him but this was for Romeo's sake. Dutch felt the same too and he didn't give up just yet. First, they had to deal with the obstacles they came across.

Dutch opened up his MA5C, fire rattling and bullets flying. He charged towards the brute, elbowing its shield and stuck the assault rifle at its chin. He squeezed the trigger, not seeing the rounds tearing through the brute's muscles and the blood coming out. Some blood splashes onto his helmet and forearms.

The monstrous creature screeched, and Dutch pushed it down to the floor with his lower arm, leaving the brute to die a slow pain of blood loss.

As if on cue, Mickey took his M41 and rammed into the last alien, crushing the rocket launcher into its stomach. Seeing the brute's grip loosen on its needler, he took it in his other hand and aimed it at the brute's neck. He punctured in numerous sparkling needles into the big fat ring and hurriedly fled. The needles turned bright purple and detonated, followed by a fantastic purple explosion. The brute was vaporized and it instantly fell to the ground, never to move again.

Mickey looked at the dead brute's burnt corpse, and sighed. Dutch suggested, "We should inform Gunny that the area is now clear; the Kikowani Station is close and we should hurry."

"Alright, Dutch." Mickey waved the corporal away. He walked to the apartment building with Dutch behind him.

They entered the room. Romeo was sitting quite miserably on the floor with Buck standing at the doorway with a broad smile. At first, they thought Romeo was dead or probably sleeping. After Buck told them that he was playing dead, Dutch rolled his eyes. He then said, "We should move now. The station's four blocks away."

Buck replied, "That's okay. I just gave Romeo some foam. We'll make a move now." He gestured to Romeo, who failed to stand up. Buck, not surprised, and walked over to the sniper. He let out his hand for Romeo to take, and picked him up while ignoring his winces. The Gunnery Sergeant wrapped Romeo's arm around his shoulder.

The group exited the building and made their way through the deserted buildings. It was again quiet: gentle wind and more corpses. The Superintendent watched the ODSTs venture deeper into the city, heading towards the destination they craved to go to. Romeo lowered his head and began to feel the dizziness stirring in his mind. The effect of the bio-foam was beginning to subside and he suddenly felt heavy once again. The pain returned but not as intense as he remembered it to be. The difficulty once again stopped Romeo from breathing normally. Buck hid his face of concern and Dutch and Mickey moved faster.

Through the first two buildings, nobody talked. Silence lingered around them and it began to feel strangely eerie. Mickey couldn't handle the quietude between the members and asked Dutch in a fast whisper, "Do you have a medkit?"

"Yeah. Why?" Dutch replied with another question. Mickey told him that Romeo would need another canister of bio-foam once the effects the sniper had would lose effect when they reach the Kikowani Station. Judging by Buck's slur on the word 'some', Mickey considered it to be temporary for perhaps a few minutes. Mickey explained, "To me it seems that you have to use up your canister for Romeo's sake. I used mine for that sergeant in Fourth Battalion this afternoon."

Dutch shrugged. "Fine. If you say so," He agreed.

Twenty minutes later, Buck finally saw the station coming into view. The walls were rusted but at least they reached the station. Romeo needed to be set down. Buck seemed to walk faster, going nearer to the shelter. The more he neared, the more Romeo's pain increased. The Gunnery Sergeant reassured again, "Don't worry; we're almost there."

Buck already his foot in the station when Romeo finally begged, "P-put me down, put me down- for a sec." He set the sniper down, and rose to look at Dutch. He commanded, "Dutch! Medkit."

The Gunnery Sergeant bent down again, letting out a hand at Dutch to receive the canister of bio-foam. Dutch frowned at Romeo's slight disability. He didn't know much about Romeo's wound but he wanted to ask again. Crouching down, he allowed Buck to open up his backpack and take a filled canister from it. As Buck rummaged through, Dutch asked, "What's wrong with him?"

"Punctured lung; huge jeopardy. Not deep though," Buck answered, finally grabbing a canister of bio-foam. He pushed the bulky, thick needle out. Romeo reached for the canister but Buck decided to inject the foam in himself. He carefully put it at Romeo's wound, and at the right spot and time, he squeezed his finger at the button, oozing in thick, frothy bio-foam into the crack-cut in the sniper's armor. Romeo let out a loud inhale, and exhaled slowly. The pain relieved and he was able to talk again. It was a good thing the foam would last for a few hours. If it hadn't for Dutch, Romeo would be dead. Buck questioned, "Better?"

Romeo's visor depolarized and his exhale strained before he asked, "Now what?"

"Trains ran underground up to the old city," Buck turned his head sideways, as though pointing to the direction of where the tunnels were supposed to be. Continuing, he explained, "We're gonna find one of the tunnels; walk on after here." Wasn't the simple plan Buck had in mind, but it was his first. Considerations would be made later.

Pulling the canister from his side, Romeo held it and made another question. "So you're gonna carry me all the way, sweetheart?"

Buck shrugged. "Was planning but... now did you feel better-" He was interrupted the sound of Phantom engines echoed outside. Buck straightened up, looking through the window where the Covenant vehicle soared through the air, its flashlight scanning for any signs of life on the streets. Dutch raised his weapon, preparing in case infantries were coming down again.

"Get the door!" Buck ordered. Dutch immediately jumped for the controls in a ticket booth, leaning out and pressing a few buttons with his fingers. The security shutters slowly closed, but soon came to a stop just a few centimeters from ground. Probably due to malfunction but it would work fine. It was a good thing that the Covenant didn't see the ODSTs.

Inside, Buck waited for Romeo to give him the canister. Romeo stared at him for a while and understood. He handed Buck the empty canister and tried to stand up on his feet. Unfortunately, he only stood with a slight limp but better standing than nothing. Buck took one last look at the canister and threw it through the gap from the doors, leaving it to roll outside.

The Gunnery Sergeant held his MA5C, smiled at Romeo and left. Romeo was expecting to be given a weapon. He looked at Dutch.

Dutch just raised his shoulders and left.

* * *

**Postcards on the Jackass Mobile**

"Gunny... I think you need to see this," Mickey called through his comm, his eyes fixated on something and jaw open with an awe. The tunnels were flooded; there was no way they could make it. Down the stairs went Dutch, Buck and Romeo. Romeo was limping behind, and he stopped behind Mickey to find the last thing he wanted. Buck still walked until he stopped in his tracks, looking around in the tunnel. It was a mess; hard to say. They couldn't get out of this place on foot. They had to find some sort of way by air. The options Buck had in mind were instantly eliminated. Mickey frowned, "This means we're screwed, right?"

There were two trains - one unused and one apparently damaged. A few groups of Covenant guarded the area. Buck heard himself curse and looked up at the sky. A phantom they saw earlier flew to a Landing Zone, to drop off some troops. Oddly, Buck smirked. He even dared to differ, "Not yet."

He looked at Romeo and Dutch and commanded, "Wait here. We're gonna steal that ride." He pointed to the Phantom, and cried out, "It's landing, now's our chance! Mickey! You're with me!"

Mickey was shocked, but he shrugged. He still said, "Gunny, I can fly a Pelican, but a Phantom? It's been years since I've ran a simulation!"

"Well, then let's see what you remember trooper, move!" Buck couldn't waste anymore time standing around for nothing. He locked and loaded, and moved down the stairs, not listening to Mickey's words. His eyes followed the Phantom as it dropped off a few Huragoks, also known as the Engineers. Several brutes and grunts surrounded the LZ, and three grunts were standing in Buck's way. They noticed him, and yelped with a squeal of surprise.

Buck fired up a burst of bullets, killing the three in less than a minute. When he found some beam rifles sitting comfortably in a Covenant weapon stock. He pulled one out from the locks and threw his wasted M6C away. He raised the 100% charged weapon, and used the scope to zoom in on incoming brutes. Most of them were heading to their position, unaware of Mickey and Buck's presence. He pulled the hard, thick trigger.

A bright beam of purple cut through the air, entering and exiting a brute chieftain's head. The brute moaned in misery, and another beam pierced through its head. The brute fell, followed by the brutes chasing for Buck. Buck had no problem taking out those brutes, each taking two beam shots. He had to run from his position and let his overcharged beam rifle cool down.

He aimed once again, firing at the brutes who failed to evade his shots. Lasers tore through their bodies, and in approximately thirty seconds, all were on the ground bleeding to death.

"Mickey!" Buck called out when the brutes were done.

Mickey responded with a quick sprint to the Phantom. However, he stopped when he saw the Engineers floating away from the Phantom and lingering around. Illuminating blobs of blue, purple and pink winked under their silver armor. His anxiety caused him to say, "Gunny! More of these floating squids. Should we smoke 'em?"

"Well, they're between us and that Phantom," Buck said calm through the comm. He then said with a smug, "What do you think?"

Buck grabbed another beam rifle and jumped over the railing to the lower platforms. He didn't bother to run down the stairs. One of the engineers found the Gunnery Sergeant and before it could attack, Buck shot it with a piercing violet beam. Bits of skin and blueish blood splattered on the floor. The other Engineers immediately fled but only some were shot down by Mickey's MA5C.

The private spotted more grunts, and threw a grenade at them. The fragmentation bomb detonated and it sent the grunts flying, along with a paint splatter of blue left on the ground. Soon, the infantries were wiped out. Buck waved at Mickey, signaling the both of them to advance towards the Phantom.

Looking at the gravity lift, Buck told Mickey, "Go, Mickey. Up the lift, kill the pilots."

Mickey nodded. "Here goes nothing!" He dash to the gravity lift which picked him up into the vehicle. In the Phantom there was a brute and four grunts guarding the control panel. Mickey whipped out his SMG and opened fire, blindly at the grunts and in concentration at the brute. Blood and bones littered the floor, and he quickly ran to the window shutters. He opened them with a button on a booth beside the windows, and threw the bodies down with a simple kick. They fell with a hard thud.

"Ugh, cabin secure. Flight controls read green across the board... Well, purple, but she's good to go... I think," Mickey said through the comm., scratching his helmet as his eyes uncertainly scanned through the foreign controls. Surely riding this baby wouldn't be hard, right? If only he could remember what he had learnt on that test simulation a few years back. Mickey could only hope his memory was still intact.

"Ok, I'll grab a banshee, you go get Dutch and Romeo," Buck replied, not hearing Mickey's tense through the private's voice. He looked around and found a huddle of banshees left alone on the platforms.

Meanwhile, Dutch was still waiting when Romeo pointed at the incoming Phantom, "There's our ride! And I thought it was the Jackass Mobile we had in training facilities two years ago!"

Dutch sighed, "You remember too much Romeo. I bet we can take a picture of this and send it to the ONI division; they'll publish it as a postcard in our daily paper." He walked down the stairs, looking up at the giant Phantom as the gravity lift slowly took time to reach the ground. Romeo, who was motivated by the escape, stood up and tried to ignore the numb pain in his chest. He jogged to the gravity lift. Dutch took a step into the lift, and slowly ascended until he reached the inside of the Phantom.

Romeo did the same and Buck looked back at the Covenant vehicle. For some reason, he thought he saw Romeo doing a 'peace-out' sign as he was on the lift in mid-air. Perhaps it was his imagination. He looked back at the banshees, ready to pick one.

All of them were damaged.

* * *

I decided to post a 6000 word entry. Every chapter I do is more by 1000 words! I wonder why... Anyway, please tell me what you think in a review! I'm still waiting for the Reach to come out so yeah I'd like to hear what Bungie said about the multiplayer maps. I bet it's going to be awesome. It's a shame the Spartans had to be -executed- .

Okay, I'm done with this chapter! Took me two days. Dang. I was too damn lazy. I'll do one next week so be sure to be on the look-out! Sometimes I publish, sometimes I don't. Usually it takes me time to figure that I forgot to write. Only my mother reminds me. ...

See you guys on the NEXT CHAPTER!:

**...Daylight Dancer is Nightlight Cancer...**


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